Thursday, January 15, 2015

Being faithful

faithful  (adj)  having faith; remaining true, constant or loyal

Health wise for me, last year was a strange one. Nothing major (thankful for that), but I kept getting one thing after another. Mostly digestive related, which is where I tend to internalize my feelings. I came to the conclusion (finally I heard the voice yelling at me), that I should start to meditate (again). It is one of my resolutions, and I hope I don't jinx it by making it one.

I was introduced to the art of meditation when I was 14 years old, thanks to one of my mother's friends.  Unfortunately, I didn't quite understand it at that time and struggled with many aspects of it, for instance; I thought it was supposed to calm me and it didn't, and I was even more restless. So to make a long story short, the seed was planted at that time, but it would take me a while until I could properly understand it.

I think we all have issues, right?  I'm not getting into mine here (most are still painful, plus I'm not ready to share), but I do have a lot of them.  Meditation helps me in a way that no other thing does. It has been 5 years since the last time I sat to meditate, and I really need to find the balance of mind and body. Every little helps in my case, and it became quite clear why my illnesses happened and what I need to do about it.

Not that meditation has anything to do with religion, but I will just explain a bit because in my case I do find that they go together (meditation and buddhism that is).

I was raised catholic (btw), but since a very young age I became completely attracted to buddhism, which was a big NO in my house. I learned to pray the rosary with my grandmother (it is something I still do, occasionally), and my interest in buddhism never left me. It has been a "constant" in my life. I am not a buddhist btw (I do have dreams about it, but that will be for another post, someday). I do read a lot of books related to it because they help me, they give me tools I can work with, and I need a lot of those tools. A LOT!

I felt guilty many times. How can I possibly believe in God and Buddha at the same time? I actually do, and I don't question myself anymore. I am faithful to my beliefs, which are mine and only mine, and I've come to terms with all of them.  I've actually thought the same thing for the longest time; "Do whatever you have to do to become a better human, the road to get there is not the point." Isn't the point of this life to be better, or to at least try?

Since last week, with all that happened in Paris, I've been thinking quite a lot about religion and beliefs. Religion is not something I write about here or even discuss outside of my home, but it is something I've wanted to share for a while, just a tiny bit of what I'm made up of. I think the world would be a much nicer place if we all stopped judging each other's views. Every one has the right to believe in whatever they choose, and no one should think their point of view, religion, political inclination is better than others. That is just not the way. It is so simple, and yet so complicated. Why?

Anyway, without further delay I would like to inform you that I will be back soon, but not so soon. I will be trying to get my meditation act together.

I wish you all the very best,
Giova


8 comments:

  1. Great post! Thank you for sharing! I would love to meditate but I can't seem to quiet my mind long enough unless I do a guided meditation without ANY distractions. I feel lucky because I was raised without any kind of strict religious practices at home, so we were free to explore our own beliefs and figure out what was right for us. In fact, I'm still figuring it out but the journey is mine and mine alone, I just hope that people are seeing the positive changes that are happening (because they are!) I would love to hear more about your continuing journey and your meditations! xoxo

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    1. Thank you so much!
      I think you shouldn't think about quieting the mind as it rarely does, it is all about learning how to acknowledge those thought but not being bothered by them. In my experience it takes a lot of practice, i.e; lots of sitting down meditating.
      I actually do lots of japa meditation first, as a way to help me center, but you should really try to find out what is best for you.
      You should feel lucky, being able to look for your own path without any strict points of views is indeed a great gift.
      All the best!

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    2. I sat listening to the "Heartbeat of Mother Earth" (The Shumann Resonance) - which helped me get centered but I will definitely try Japa Meditation! What is your favorite mantra? I find myself chanting Om Namah Shivaya to help me get through the day sometimes :)

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    3. I have never heard the Shumann Resonance, but will look into it asap!
      I have the same mantra as you do, it was given to me by my teacher Maya Tiwari, some 10 years ago. Let me know how you like jape meditation?
      Have a great day!!

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  2. This post reconfirms my interest in exploring MEDITATION, so many different ideas about it. I briefly heard about COMPASSION MEDITATION, but have not looked into it. I would like to find a "guide"? who does not promote any certain dogma. I will let you know what I find. Briefly, I believe that there is a loving God/Creator but do not subscribe to a certain confining religion/church. Such an important issue, isn't it?

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    1. Have you read Thich Nhat Hanh or Pema Chödrön? They have a lot of books, and I've never felt dogmatized by either. She is especially wonderful and easy to follow.
      It is a very important issue, as well for me. For many years, and I'm still not sure I've overcome it all, I believed in God, but not the church, I had/have many issues with it still, but that is another long story ;)
      Oh, and I also read many years ago Sharon Salzberg's Lovingkindness and I thought it was amazing!
      All the best on your journey!

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  3. Todo lo que traiga PAZ Y ARMONIA a la vida............!

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